Chapter 1: Exile and Encounter
“Alto!! Bring me some tea!!”
“I have prepared it.”
“Actually, I changed my mind.
Make it black tea instead!”
“…Yes.”
“Alto?
I’m hungry, so go to the royal capital and buy that castella cake that’s been getting famous lately.”
“It takes about three days to reach the royal capital, will that be acceptable?”
“No, come back in one day.”
“…Understood, Lady Wenty.”
I had been taken in by the Rubedo House, and I worked hard to repay them for raising me.
After living like that for several years.
One day, I was summoned by Wenty’s father and called into his office.
“Alto, I hereby banish you from the Rubedo House.
A useless incompetent who cannot even take care of my daughter has no place here.”
Those cruel words pressed down heavily on me as I stood there with sunken cheeks from exhaustion.
Raised from infancy and trained to become a butler, I was suddenly cast aside at the age of sixteen.
“P-Please wait…!
Master, it is true that I failed to care for Lady Wenty the other day!
But I have devoted myself to the Rubedo House all this time!
Please, I beg you to reconsider…!”
Yesterday, I collapsed.
And naturally so.
While taking care of the selfish Lady Wenty, Alto had handled every single household chore himself.
To anyone looking from the outside, it was obvious that he had been working far beyond the limits of overwork, to the point where collapsing at any moment would not have been strange.
And of course, there was no such thing as minimum wage here.
Since I was an exclusive servant, there was no overtime pay either, only the bare minimum of food, clothing, and shelter.
The number of days off was even worse.
When was the last time I rested…?
Half a year ago?
A year ago?
Huh…?
Even on the days I supposedly rested, I remembered the maids being unable to handle the work, so I ended up working anyway…
Most people could not keep up with the workload, and every maid eventually quit.
Even when new ones came in, they were useless in the end, so everything fell onto me alone.
…I should stop thinking about it.
────I have to work.
As a result, the harassment only worsened.
Lady Wenty had not always been selfish when she was a child.
She used to be more refined.
And cuter too.
Now she just sat there arrogantly, throwing impossible demands at me.
“Reconsider?
Isn’t it your lack of willpower that caused you to collapse!?”
Here we go again…
Whenever I failed at something, they would say I lacked determination.
That I lacked motivation.
And if I couldn’t do it, then I should leave.
The end result of all that────was this.
“I deeply apologize.
From now on, I will ensure that nothing like this ever happens again…”
“I no longer need you.
I have already arranged for an excellent butler from the royal capital.
I felt some attachment since we raised you from infancy, but I have finally lost all patience with you.”
“…Eh?”
I couldn’t believe it.
A butler besides me…?
And from the royal capital, no less…
“Surprised?
You fool.
Alto, there are countless people more capable than you.
You are replaceable.
Fuu… at least now I won’t have to watch Wenty throwing tantrums anymore.”
The girl I served, Wenty, had an absolutely terrible personality.
She wanted an emerald diamond prize, so she ordered me to win a swordsmanship tournament.
Then she demanded a bath that would rejuvenate her skin.
Then she wanted dragon meat and ordered me to hunt one.
I fulfilled all of her unreasonable wishes.
And whenever I failed, she would throw objects around in rage, her shrieks echoing throughout the mansion.
Even when I collapsed, she only screamed about why I had collapsed in the first place.
“T-That was because Lady Wenty was completely unreasonable!”
“You dare insult my daughter!?
You insolent fool!”
Like parent, like child.
They truly viewed me as nothing more than a slave.
Even so, I genuinely felt grateful for being raised by them, and I devoted myself to repaying that debt.
I endured days that drained away my life itself.
No matter how painful or miserable it became, I endured it────yet being exiled like this was far too cruel.
“Leave the Rubedo House immediately.
Worthless trash.”
I knew I had to say something back.
I opened my mouth, but no words came out.
Quietly clenching my fists, I turned around.
Dark circles hung beneath my eyes, and despite knowing how severely sleep-deprived I was, I staggered forward unsteadily.
Lady Wenty…
There was no need to say anything anymore.
The head of the house had already banished me.
I should just leave already…
I’m exhausted from everything.
After leaving the Rubedo House, I sat beside the fountain in the center of town.
I barely had any belongings, so I left carrying only enough food for a few days.
Surely this much was allowed.
It’s not like I was ever paid wages before.
Surely they wouldn’t scream at me to give back the bread too… right?
Ugh… scary.
…What should I do now?
For now, staying in this town might invite harassment from the Rubedo House.
I should head to a city two towns away.
Wearing clothes more suited to an adventurer than formal attire, Alto began walking.
After two days of traveling on foot while cutting down on sleep.
My situation had only grown worse by the hour.
Finally arriving at the city of Firen, I headed toward a certain place.
“For now, I guess I’ll try going to the Adventurer’s Guild…”
The problem was that I had no money.
Earning some quickly had to come first.
Sleeping outdoors was possible, but bandits might attack inside the city, while monsters would attack outside the city walls.
That was why I had kept walking without resting.
I did have a sword, but I wanted to avoid fighting right now.
I was so sleepy that my legs were wobbling beneath me…
I need to earn money quickly.
If I want to survive…
I arrived at the Adventurer’s Guild.
I had made an adventurer card once before for a dragon subjugation.
If I still had it, I should be able to accept requests.
“Something simple that pays well…
There are too many, I can’t tell.
Maybe I should ask.”
When I spoke to the receptionist, she recommended several low-rank jobs that could earn money quickly.
“There are requests for gathering healing herbs, goblin extermination, as well as neighborhood cleaning and laundry work for nobles.”
“Thank you very much.”
I thanked her lightly and looked over the request sheets.
50 gold for herb gathering.
100 gold for goblin extermination.
Since an inn costs 30 gold per night, even herb gathering would be enough, but…
“What exactly is this laundry assistance request for the Isphile House?”
“Ah, that’s a noble family’s request.
Lord Isphile, who retired from the royal capital, currently lives in this town.
Apparently his granddaughter is an adventurer who keeps coming back drenched in blood.
The blood of foul-smelling monsters doesn’t come out easily, after all.
Even a single outfit takes at least a full day to clean, so it’s quite difficult.”
I see…
I checked the conditions.
“200 gold per outfit…
That’s quite a lot.
And same-day payment too.”
I had been splattered with monster blood before.
Cleaning it really was difficult.
The one time I had done it, I couldn’t finish any of my other work afterward.
To avoid that problem, I sacrificed sleep researching and eventually created a certain spell.
In other words, laundry magic!
In my case, I could completely remove monster blood instantly.
Then this was the perfect job!
“I’ll take this one!”
“Y-Yes…
Um, by the way, may I ask you something?”
“What is it?”
“The dark circles under your eyes are awful…
And you’re swaying on your feet too.
Are you really okay?”
“Ahaha, I’m fine.”
“N-No, you’re definitely not okay!?
Y-You’re honestly kind of scary…”
I only meant that I was used to people worrying about me.
I should hurry up and finish the job.
Thinking that, I turned around just as a crimson-red woman drenched in monster blood entered the Adventurer’s Guild.
As for her face… the blood made it impossible to see clearly.
Her hair was completely red too, and the surrounding adventurers were visibly disturbed.
The receptionist, however, seemed used to it and greeted her with a smile.
The woman passed by me and dropped monster materials onto the counter with a thud.
“I’m here to report my request completion.
These are the scythes of the Kamatis monsters appearing lately.
I also killed several goblins.”
“Thank you very much…
Ah, Miss Uruk!”
“What is it?
I’ve already reported the request.
Is there something else?”
“No, someone here wishes to take on the Isphile House laundry request.
He’s behind you.”
She turned toward me and walked over.
The stench of blood tickled my nose.
However, I instantly switched into butler mode.
“I am Uruk of the Isphile House.
I heard you accepted the job.
I shall guide you there.”
“I sincerely appreciate your kindness.
My name is Alto, formerly the exclusive butler of a young lady.
I shall devote every ounce of my strength to removing the stains without bringing shame upon the profession of a butler.”
…Ah, right.
I was banished from the Rubedo House, so I’m not a butler anymore.
Damn, it’s such a deeply ingrained habit that I can’t stop myself.
I had already been unfairly exiled from the Rubedo House.
I no longer needed to remain bound to that family.
“…Heh.
You’re a strange one.
Well, whatever.
I won’t pry too deeply.”
Meanwhile, the surrounding adventurers whispered among themselves.
“T-That red woman…
From the Isphile House?
Could she really be the Ice Lady?
So the rumors about her being an adventurer were true…”
“Is that guy behind her okay!?
He’s staggering all over the place!
Those dark circles are terrible too, he looks like he’ll collapse any second!?”